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Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Backlog 11/11, 11/18

November 11, 2013

This week was absolutely amazing!! I got to go to Lleida again for a specialized
training, and it was so cool. President
Pace is an amazing man. I got to go on
an intercambio (exchange) with Elder Wiess this week too (he is one of our zone
leaders) and he is absolutely amazing. But,
the best part is that this Friday we had four baptisms!!! It was a really good week, and I felt the Spirit
so much. I loved being able to help others come closer to Christ. Here is the story of the family we baptized. This is actually just a copy of what I sent to
President Pace in my letter this week.

"Elders Buttcane and Wiscombe got a reference from some
other missionaries a week before I came into the mission, and they started to
teach the mom, in a park by their house. They only taught her two times before I came
in to the area, but one time she brought her two little girls, one who is 12,
and the other who is 9. We had the opportunity to teach them in the park again,
and then that Sunday the three of them came to church. Then we met with the mom
again in the park, and we invited her to be baptized, but she said no very
firmly. The miracle came though, when
the next time we met her whole family was with her, even her husband, who can't
walk very well because he has a very deformed foot and it hurts him very bad.
When we met them in the park, the first thing the girls said to us was that
they wanted to be baptized, because they had learned about it in primary.So we asked both the parents if that was all right,
and they didn't really care about it, so we got out the calendar and started to
plan.About halfway through filling them
out, one of the daughters off handedly asked her dad if he wanted a calendar
too, and if he would be baptized with them, and he said yes! It was kinda a
half hearted "sure", but we still got out the calendar for him and we
explained it all to them, and they agreed to come to church the next Sunday as
well as pray and read. We had a few more lessons with them, and one time we
asked if we could meet in their house, but they said no because they have 6
cats, 2 dogs, and 5 birds and they didn't want us to be allergic and get mad at
them and all this stuff. I guess they have had people complain before and they just
didn't want to deal with it. Anyway, that Sunday we met them in the park and
walked with them to church, which usually takes elder Wiscombe and I about 20
minutes. So, the fact that the dad wanted to walk all the way there was really
another miracle because it hurts him to walk. They all came and loved it.

We continued having lessons with them, always in the park,
but one time it was dark and kinda cold when we got there, and only the dad was
there. He said that the girls and his
wife wouldn't leave the house, so if we wanted to he would take us there and we
could share the message in the house. So,
we followed him and went into a really hairy environment. There were so many
animals, and our suits were covered in hair as soon as we sat down, partly
because as soon as we did we each had a dog on our lap and cats everywhere.
But, we shared our message and right as we were about to leave, the mom said
that she was impressed that the animals liked us and we were calm about it, and
she simply asked us if she could be baptized with her family, but without a calendar.
When she said that, it made all the hair worth it.

We kept teaching them, and there were a few hiccups along
the way, but in the end we were able to baptize all four of them Friday. I had
the opportunity to baptize the youngest daughter,Elder Wiscombe baptized the 12
year old, and Elder Russel baptized the mom (he had to do it twice because her
dress floated, and she wasn't very happy with that, but she still did it, and
afterwards she was laughing about it) for the dad, Elder Russel did the
ordinance, but Elder Wiscombe helped get him into the water because of his foot
and other problems he has. It was a really great experience.

After we all
were changed, they all four had huge smiles. I have never seen this family so
happy, and the smiles were even bigger in church after they were confirmed.
This gospel really does bless families, and this week I got to see it firsthand.

I know this church is true, and I know that everything we as
missionaries do is for the Lord, and to help the people here become more happy.
In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."

This week was truly amazing. keep strong, and help the missionaries
out whenever you see them. They really
do need the help of the members.

I Love you all,

Elder Dixon

November 18, 2013

Wow, this week was crazy!!!It was so good though. On Tuesday two Joven ( what they call the youth
here) went on their missions....I guess they really aren't joven
anymore...neither am I. It's weird to be
going to elders quorum, it's just a bunch of old guys. I like the Priests better. The youth in our ward are hilarious though. They
are so much fun to be around. Anyway, it
was another reminder for me that I'm actually in Spain.It still is such a weird thought.

Anyway, this Saturday we will be having a baptism. Magally finally has stopped smoking. (That's
why she wasn't baptized last week) she started when she was 12, and so that she
has gone almost 9 days without a cigarette is absolutely amazing. Also, we have
a baptism planned for the 30th, and for the 14th of December!!! We have been really blessed with people who
want to know about the gospel. The 14th
is actually another family, the mom and two sons.There is a daughter who wants to learn more,
but we haven't met her yet so she doesn't have a fetcha.

Another crazy thing about this week was the rain!! It's been
a solid 3 days!!! And then the wind is
crazy, and when we cross the bridge the rain is almost sideways, and we have to
run across some parts cause there are huge puddles and if a car comes we would
be drenched....well, we already were for most of the time anyway,
but....ya.....it's crazy how wet everything is... all the gutters are
overflowing, but I absolutely love it, for some strange reason it's really
cool. Also, I have an amazing companion.
I really admire him, and one thing that I like the most is how positive he
always is. Like I said, the rain was
pouring, and we had to walk across the bridge four times on Saturday, and we weren't
able to take the bus, and it was freezing cold, but through it all he was
laughing and smiling. At one point he
even took off his hood and turned to me and said, essentially, that we should
be happy about our trials because the Lord has blessed us so much with people
to teach and the 5 fetchas we have right now. It was really a spiritual moment and made me
realize how blessed I am to be on a mission, and that I get to see miracles
literally every day.

I know that this mission is the best thing for me in my life
right now, and I know that this gospel is true.